Muse by David Teitsma

This past spring I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. It is a rather small and quick read, but I have a couple of thoughts on it anyways. First, I enjoyed the stories and the ideas presented in it help keep me centered on whats is important in life; what to be concerned about or what to pursue. Also, though it seemed like a feel good book being marketed towards lonely folks. This was especially so in some chapters to be crafted to solicit idea of 'as long as you just try' or 'just be happy and everything will be okay.' This seems shallow, and leads people to avoid conflict; even the sometimes necessary conflict.

Well here are some good lines I would like to quote:

"Well. People often belittle the place where they were born. But heaven can be found in the most unlikely corners. And heaven itself has many steps. This, for me, is the second. And for you, the first." pp34

"Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair."pp 104

"Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from the inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves." pp141